Masters of Rural Markets Series

From Touchpoints to Trustpoints:

Winning over India’s Aspiring
Rural Consumers
The Changing Realities of Rural India
Accenture survey of 2800 rural consumers across 8 states and 10 Focus Group Discussions provides unique insights into how
rural consumers are changing—in terms of their attitudes, preferences and buying behavior. Businesses that capitalize on this
opportunity now could gain a significant competitive advantage over those who wait until the market matures further.

What do rural consumers value? When do they buy? What sales channels do they use?

71% 55% 83%

buy brands and 59 percent see them as buy when the need arises, rather than waiting travel to nearby cities to make their bigger
trustworthy and reliable. 66 percent weightage for special occasions. purchases.
is given to brand image, functionality and
aesthetics while making their purchase decisions.

Who influences them the most? How much do TV ads and celebrity Where do they plan to spend more?
endorsements influence them?
1% 6%

1% 7% 51%
said the key influencer for their last big-ticket claimed advertisements and celebrity plan to increase their spend on education
purchase was the village head and 6 percent endorsements have an influence on their final and 49 percent plan to increase their spend
claimed it was the local shopkeeper. purchase decisions. on healthcare.

Three broad dimensions characterizing rural consumer behavior change

Social
Brand Savvy
Empowered
Proactive

Discerning

Aspirational
Networked
Value seeking
Trading up
Street-Smart
Exploring
Connected

Four Rural Consumer Segments

Traditionalists are the
conservative rural consumers
that rely on conventional
channels to make their purchase
decisions. Necessity drives most
of their purchase decisions and
they typically purchase the
cheapest offerings available.
Steady Climbers aspire for a
more comfortable lifestyle.
They want to enhance their
social standing among their
peers, and strive to do so by
buying branded products
and offerings.
Young Enthusiasts, rural
consumers aged 18-28, make
extensive use of digital
technology and buy branded
products to enhance their
social image. They powerfully
influence the decisions of
other consumers segments.
Village Elites are the progressive
rural consumers, boasting high
education and awareness levels.
They desire the best in product
quality, features and aesthetics.

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Building Trust along Rural Consumer Purchase Journey
To gain wallet share in India’s rural market, executives need to meet the new imperatives at each milestone in the purchase
journey. We call such milestones “trustpoints” instead of “touchpoints,” as they constitute critical moments where companies
can build trust with the customer—or destroy it.

1. Need Recognition 2. Awareness 3. Consideration 4. Validation

• Develop a deep understanding
of rural consumers
• Shape the market by
identifying and targeting the
right consumers
• Keep communication simple,
customised and engaging
• Customise marketing mix
by product and geography
• Look beyond traditional
media; explore mobile
marketing
• Tailor value proposition
to create resonance
• Appeal to diversity
• Demonstrate results to
inspire consumer trust
• Engage with relevant
influencers
• Invest to transform
retailers into informed
advisors

1 2 3 4

Satisfied
Customer

Delighted
Customer
7 5

Outside Unsatisfied
the loop Customer

6. Experience 7. Advocacy 5. Purchase

• Differentiate through service;
initiate contact with customer
• Deliver on the brand promise
to win loyalty
• Nurture advocates to leverage
positive word of mouth
• Seek customer
feedback proactively
• Enhance in-store experience
• Support online channel through
offline intervention
• Offer improved financial access
and payment flexibility

The use of digital

>50% 38%
of the respondents expressed willingness of the respondents agreed getting
to use digital channels explanations on how to use digital
channels could motivate them to use it

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Core Research Team
Mamta Kapur, Luv Nijhawan, Ashlesha
Naokarkar, Abhijit Bhavsar
Senior Editorial Team
Sanjay Dawar, Raghuram Devarakonda,
Vineet R. Ahuja, Rishabh Bindlish, Paul F.
Nunes, David Light, Raghav Narsalay
We would also like to thank the
following individuals for their
contributions to the study:
Jubin Mishra, Sohini Bhanja, Vinita V. Nair,
Manpreet E. Singh, Prabhat Singh,
Ritesh Kapoor
For more information
on the research,
please contact
Mamta Kapur
Research Manager
Accenture Institute for
High Performance
mamta.kapur@accenture.com
Vineet R. Ahuja
Principal
Accenture Strategy, India
vineet.r.ahuja@accenture.com
Rishabh Bindlish
Managing Director
Accenture Strategy, India
rishabh.bindlish@accenture.com
Raghuram Devarakonda, Ph.D.
Managing Director
Accenture Strategy, India
raghuram.devarakonda@accenture.com
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